"I don't think I'm very suitable to be a Jōnin-sensei."
Since it was Naraku's suggestion, Uzuki Yūgao gave it some serious thought. In the end, however, she declined.
Despite her beautiful appearance, Yūgao was no small fry within ANBU. Leaving aside her strength, even Naraku's seniority in ANBU didn't surpass hers.
"If you don't want to, that's fine. Being aJōnin-sensei is actually pretty busy."
If Yūgao had been willing, Naraku would have transferred her out of ANBU and arranged for her to become the instructor of the Tracking Team formed from the Konoha Twelve.
In other words—Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino.
Yes, that would mean taking the position away from Yūhi Kurenai.
As aJōnin who had only recently been promoted, Kurenai's appointment as the Tracking Team's sensei relied not only on her background, but also heavily on Sarutobi Asuma's support.
After all, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were all heirs of major ninja clans. Each of them had the potential to inherit their clan leadership—especially Hyūga Hinata, who was the heir of the Hyūga main family.
Without Asuma backing her, Kurenai taking on these three as her students would have been genuinely risky.
If Naraku truly wanted to intervene, snatching that position would have been easy.
But since Yūgao wasn't interested, there was no need to push it.
…
The next day, the Hokage Tower.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi; the elders, Koharu and Homura Mitokado; and Nara Shikaku gathered inside the Hokage's office.
Aside from Hiruzen, who was rhythmically puffing on his pipe, the others were all flipping through the documents in their hands.
Printed clearly on those documents were photographs of Kusunoki Naraku and Hatake Kakashi.
Why hasn't the meeting started yet?
Shikaku knew exactly why he was here—but with everyone already present, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Who were they still waiting for?
Unless—
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of a cane striking the floor grew steadily clearer. Shikaku immediately realized his guess was correct.
The office door opened, and Shimura Danzō walked in step by step.
Didn't even knock?
Shikaku frowned. Of course, everyone present knew this was simply Danzō venting his dissatisfaction.
Once Danzō silently took the seat that had clearly been prepared in advance, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
Hiruzen tapped his pipe against his chair.
"You all know why I called you here."
"Wait!"
Before Hiruzen could say much more, Homura and Koharu exchanged a glance, and Homura spoke up.
"Hiruzen! You're doing a fine job—why are you suddenly talking about stepping down?"
"Cough, cough… I'm already old. My eyesight is failing. If I don't step aside soon, I'll only hinder Konoha's new branches from growing."
Homura frowned, clearly wanting to argue further, but Hiruzen cut him off. Left with no choice, Homura sat back down.
Hiruzen stood up, pipe in hand, and looked through the window at the thriving village of Konohagakure.
"In truth, I stepped down a long time ago—didn't I?"
"If the Fourth Hokage were still alive, this old man would already be enjoying retirement."
"When the Nine-Tails Incident happened, the situation was dire. Minato died suddenly, and for the sake of the village's stability, I returned to this seat. Now, Konoha has long since recovered and is developing well. The new generation of ninja has grown up. Stepping down now is the right choice."
You never should have come back in the first place!
That seat should have been mine!
Ever since Minato's death, Danzō had harbored deep resentment and hatred toward Hiruzen for reclaiming the Hokage position.
In Danzō's eyes, if not for Hiruzen's reversal, he should have become Hokage.
Suppressing the fury in his heart, Danzō narrowed his visible eye slightly.
"Actually, the most suitable person is still—forget it. What are your opinions?"
Hiruzen turned back to the others and waited for their answers.
Everyone present knew who the most suitable candidates truly were…
Jiraiya and Tsunade.
But both of them were traveling the world and rarely returned to the village. They simply weren't options.
Orochimaru—his most beloved and valued student—had defected. The other two had left Konoha for various reasons.
One could say Hiruzen was an outstanding teacher, yet none of the three disciples he painstakingly trained remained in the village.
Jiraiya and Tsunade's departure had been a heavy blow to him.
"Koharu and I believe that Hatake Kakashi is the more suitable Hokage candidate!"
Seeing that Hiruzen had already made up his mind to step down, Homura and Koharu didn't waste words. The two had discussed this beforehand and chose to support Kakashi outright.
"Of course, Naraku isn't bad either. But he's busy with the Medical Department, and now he's also managing ANBU. If he became a Hokage candidate, he'd need to temporarily step down and become aJōnin-sensei, which would delay many important matters."
An excuse.
A blatant excuse that everyone present recognized.
Homura and Koharu absolutely did not want Kusunoki Naraku to become the Fifth Hokage.
As Tsunade's direct disciple, Naraku had ties to the Fire Daimyō and the noble class—and through the Medical Department, he had carefully maintained those relationships.
At the same time, he could draw funding from the Medical Department, and now he had entered ANBU.
Connections. Money. Military force.
Naraku had all three.
If he became Hokage, Kusunoki Naraku would consolidate power at lightning speed—and then kick these two elders out entirely.
Even when Minato Namikaze took office as the Fourth Hokage, he hadn't possessed resources anywhere near this overwhelming.
This was absolutely unacceptable.
At the very least, for now, Homura and Koharu were unwilling to relinquish the power in their hands.
Their stance didn't surprise Hiruzen in the slightest. He simply turned his gaze toward Nara Shikaku.
Shikaku pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Both Hatake Kakashi and Kusunoki Naraku are suitable candidates…"
That's stating the obvious.
The others were displeased. This wasn't the time for empty talk.
"…But comparatively speaking, I believe Kusunoki Naraku is the more suitable choice."
After giving his answer, Shikaku fell silent.
The Third Hokage took a drag from his pipe, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Shikaku, explain your reasoning."
"Yes."
Since it was the Hokage's request, Shikaku naturally couldn't refuse.
"Both Kakashi and Naraku possess sufficient strength and seniority. The crucial difference lies in Kakashi's temperament. If he were to become Hokage…"
Shikaku didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
The issue undeniably existed.
Everyone present was part of Konoha's upper leadership. They were well aware of Kakashi's past and knew how profoundly those tragedies had changed him—how he had struggled for years to emerge from that shadow.
In particular, Hiruzen had noticed more than once that Kakashi would regularly visit the Memorial Stone to mourn Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin.
Being soft-hearted wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
But if one's spirit was too fragile, becoming Hokage would be deeply problematic.
Of course, at this point, no one knew that after becoming the instructor of Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi would gradually resolve his inner knots and bloom into his true brilliance.
Right now, in everyone's eyes, Kakashi was still a man beaten down by misfortune—someone who struggled to stand back up.
That was why Hiruzen was hesitating.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have summoned them at all.
At the very least, for now, the Third Hokage's heart was still undecided.
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